Sydney, Nov 19 : South Africa by recruiting former coach Duncan Fletcher, the architect of England’s 2005 Ashes victory, as a consultant for the Proteas’ forthcoming tour of Australia is expected to escalate tensions further between two teams.

The series, billed as the battle for Test supremacy, has been tinged with spice from the outset, with opposing coaches Mickey Arthur and Tim Nielsen asserting their teams’ credentials for the No. 1 ranking and highlighting flaws in each other’s armoury.

Madrid (Spain), Nov. 19 : Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros has been moved out of intensive care, weeks after undergoing a successful operation to remove a tumor from his brain.

The Spanish five-time Major winner, 51, was diagnosed with a brain tumor at La Paz hospital, after losing consciousness at Madrid Airport early last month.

He has since undergone three operations to reduce pressure on his brain and remove remaining tumor tissues.

A spokesman for the hospital said: “Severiano Ballesteros has left the intensive care unit and has now changed ward.

Sydney, Nov 19 : Australian skipper Ricky Ponting remains in a tense stand-off with former captains Ian Chappell and Allan Border, following their comments in the aftermath of the controversial fourth Test against India in Nagpur.

Ponting came under fire over his decision to bowl part-timers when Australia might have pushed for victory in Nagpur, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Melbourne, Nov 19: All rounder Andrew Symonds will make his first Test appearance against New Zealand in Brisbane from Thursday since he was sent home after the infamous “gone fishing incident”.

Symonds, who was sent home by the Australian team management before the one-day series against Bangaldesh in August, will definitely start the first test against New Zealand.

Shane Watson or Jason Krejza, who made an impressive Test debut for Australia against India in Nagpur recently, will be 12th man, Fox Sports reported.

Melbourne, Nov 19 : After Andrew Symonds’ self-confession that heavy drinking had taken a toll on him which actually led to his ouster from the team, ex-Aussie cricketer Mike Whitney had advised the Cricket Australia (CA) to stop accepting sponsorship from alcohol brands as, according to him, it encouraged heavy drinking among players.

A leading beer brand is the official sponsor of the Australian team, and Whitney said such an association was not healthy for the game.

Islamabad, Nov 19 : It has been established that the suspended Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif possessed opium when he was detained at the Dubai Airport earlier this year, and hence, he has been recommended for both ban and fine, said former PCB chief operating officer and member of its inquiry committee Shafqat Naghmi.

“It was proved during our investigation that Asif was caught with a small amount of opium at the Dubai airport,” The News quoted Naghmi as saying while addressing a press conference.